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WC #579- Cyclops
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WC #579- Cyclops

by Jim Lockhart

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted April 13, 201336 views4 comments
Taken a couple of weeks ago at a shoreline beach in Old Lyme. We used to call these shells "Shark Eyes". I had originally composed this shot in the upper right-hand corner, but decided to crop and fill the frame. Wish I had smoothed out the sand a bit. ISO 80, f/8.0, 1/250, focal length was 25.6mm, natural lighting, AWB, handheld. Sharpened and cropped in PSE. Thanks for viewing and comments are always welcome.

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on April 13, 2013 at 12:02 PM
You've done a good job of focusing attention on the spiral of the shell and the subtle color changes. To me, this looks pretty natural and I suspect that putting this shell on a smoothed area of sand would not look so natural. Since this shell is not going to run away, my personal preference would be for more dof so that the sand at the top is sharp. I would also try a modest gradient darkening of the top half, to bring out more of the color in the brighter area of the shell and some dodging of the shadowed area of the shell and it's shadow. I think more even lighting would further enhance the attention drawn to the spiral.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on April 13, 2013 at 3:35 PM
I prefer 'shark eyes' myself :wink:
Nice details and focus on the spiral, TFS Jim:toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by John Clulow on April 13, 2013 at 4:02 PM
Nice DoF, colors and form - makes me immediately think of the Fibonnaci sequence. I agree with Mark's critique suggestions, both with respect to the sharpness of he sand and the bright spot, which I think he is suggesting you could address in post processing.

But, again, I really like the colors in this and the spiral form. Thanks for sharing it! :smile:
Registered on November 1, 2012, 155 Posts, 1079 Comments
Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on April 14, 2013 at 9:36 PM
When I was young, we would get so excited if we would find one of these shells while shelling along the beach in NJ. Love the spiral shape of these which you have captured well and the variety of colors. A bit more saturation may have helped these colors stand out more. I think your tight crop works well to focus attention on this shell. Good entry for the theme, Jim. :smile:
Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments